HE may have played in the Premiership, but don’t try telling Darlington manager Martin Gray that the Northern League is a step into the unknown.
“Not likely,” he interrupts.”It’s where I started out. It made me what I am and gave me my break. It’s a league that’s always been very close to my heart.”
Which is handy, because that is where the former Sunderland and Oxford midfielder now finds himself, tasked with resurrecting a Darlington side forced to start from scratch after last season’s financial collapse.
And the 40-year-old hasn’t forgotten the harsh lessons of his formative years, which is why, amongst the local kids and academy dropouts, he has recruited what he calls ‘horrible old b*****ds’.”
“When I left school I was a joiner for two years,” says Gray, who went to the FA Cup final with Sunderland in 1992 but didn’t get on the pitch.
“I played part-time at Ferryhill Athletic under Kenny Banks. I only got £30 a week, but they were fabulous days.
“You’re a 16-year-old snotty kid playing against the big hitters of the time like Gretna and Newcastle Blue Star. And those teams were full of horrible, horrible players who didn’t care if you were wet behind the ears – you were still getting kicked.
“There was no such thing as a red card really. But it was an education and it made you what you were. You learned quick and when I got to Sunderland I was no mug.”
Plans
That was in 1990, but Denis Smith, the man who signed him, left a year later and a succession of managers found little room for Gray in their plans.
By the time Peter Reid sold him to Oxford in 1996, he had made just 54 appearances, but his hard-working performances at the Manor Ground made him a hero who is still remembered on the terraces.
“I had four years down there and I loved it,” he remembers. “Up here, the fans are 24/7. Down there, they let you play your football on a Saturday and didn’t spend the rest of the week calling you allsorts!”
His association with Darlington began in 1999 when, after seeing out his playing days, Gray joined the coaching staff.
He was there for ten years before moving to Oldham, returning this summer to rescue a club that had folded after years of decline in the oversized and under-populated Darlington Arena.
“It was the best thing that could have happened to the club,” said Gray, whose side will now play at Bishop Auckland‘s Heritage Park.
“As long as they were stuck in that stadium, they were only going one way. Now they can start again from scratch, get the finances in order and, hopefully, do a Wimbledon.
“But it has been tough. When we got here, we had one lad under contract so it’s a fresh start, with 18 brand new players.
“We’ve been on the road for the last two months, watching players, meeting players, trying to work out which ones want to come for the money and which ones want to play for Darlington. You soon get an idea of what people are about.
“People think that because we’re Darlo we have pulling power, but we don’t. I’ve gone and met players who were wanted by us and Spennymoor. And I haven’t got any of them, we just can’tt compete with their wages. And players are money spiders aren’t they? They follow the cash.
“But the squad is about there. Of course, you’re always looking for players, but I’m very happy with what we’ve got. I’ve tapped into a few I’ve worked with in the past, young lads who are now in their early 20s.
“I’ve got one or two young ex-pros, people like David Dowson from Sunderland, and I’ve pinched some lads from the Evo-Stik. And of course I’ve got one or two old horrible b*****ds!
“It’s been a massive change around, but we’ve tried to keep it professional. The way they train, the way they prepare. The training kits and the fitness testing, it’s no different to what I had at Oldham two years ago.”
Impressive
And so far, the preparations are working. Darlington, bolstered by a rekindled fanbase, have won seven out of eight pre-season games and this week notched an impressive 4-0 win over a strong Gateshead side.
Naturally, the expectation is that they will walk Step 5, but Gray is understandably keen to keep playing things down.
“The interest of the fans is massive,” he says. “The first game of the season is sold out, 2,000 tickets gone. The Northern League has never had 2,000 people at a game, not even in the good old days. We’ve sold 740 season tickets.
“Every team will benefit when Darlo come to town, playing us will be a Cup final for all of them. But with that comes pressure and there is no way we’re going to walk it.
“But that’s why we’re here isn’t it? It’s an opportunity to make a bit of history and I hope that in four or five years’ time, I’m the man to get this club back to somewhere near the Football League.”
